1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to apparatus and methods for manipulating tubular members. More particularly, the present invention pertains to apparatus and methods for guiding and aligning pipe members during operations on a well, including making and breaking drill string joints.
2. Description of Prior Art
Current operations on wells wherein drill pipe or casing members are maneuvered into or out of well bores are generally carried out with combinations of machinery and manpower. In a typical drilling operation, a drill string is made up of pipe members threadedly joined together and inserted into the well to drive the drill bit. Pipe members are moved from a storage area to a vertical orientation directly over the well bore to be added to the drill string as the well bore is deepened. Then, the joint between each new pipe member and the last pipe member at the top of the drill string is formed by threading the pipe members together. An elevator, or other gripping device, may be used to raise the pipe member to move it to the well bore, but the pipe is guided generally by manpower. The threaded pipe joint is usually made up using tongs, manipulated and operated by hand. In the reverse operation, such a joint is broken, or loosened by hand-operated tongs, and the broken out pipe member is again guided by manpower toward the storage area.
Due to the size and weight of typical drill pipe members, such operations in manipulating pipe are inherently dangerous. The dangerous quality of the operations increases where pipe stands, composed of two or three pipe members joined together, are maneuvered as single units. Similar operations involving heavier casing members being inserted to line a well bore also pose a danger.
Such operation on wells could be made safer by reducing the need for manhandling pipe members and equipment, such as tongs. Also, by eliminating the presence of one or more workers from the well vicinity, as well as increasing the use of remote control to operate well working tools, the cost of working wells may be reduced.